1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to rescue watercraft generally and, more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to a novel collapsible sailing rescue watercraft which may be carried on a larger watercraft or which may serve as an outrigger or pontoon of a multihull watercraft prior to use as a rescue watercraft.
2. Background Art
Being mindful that one must always remain with one's watercraft as long as possible in emergency situations, the time may come when one must abandon ship. In such a case, one hopefully has an inflatable raft aboard or a dinghy which one may launch and transfer into when it is clear that one's main watercraft is being lost.
There are some disadvantages of conventional life saving craft. The types that inflate after being launched are often uncomfortable and generally lack any significant means for propulsion, leaving the castaway to the vagaries of wind and current to hopefully move to safety. The types of life saving craft that are rigid or are inflated when carried on the main watercraft offer more comfort and usually can accommodate some significant form of propulsion, but the bulk of such life saving craft consumes space and so are impractical on smaller watercraft. There exists a need for a life saving craft that can be carried on a main watercraft in a collapsed state, without consuming a great deal of space, yet is comfortable and can accommodate a significant form of propulsion when deployed.
Stewart U.S. Pat. No. 2,495,190, issued Jan. 17, 1950, describes a folding catamaran which has a central, elevated occupant carrying portion having a flat bottom and four floats which are disposed under the flat bottom in a folded position and which rotate outwardly from the corners of the bottom to an extended position.
Gerbracht U.S. Pat. No. 3,450,084, issued Jun. 17, 1969, describes a boat having a central hull portion and outriggers disposed on either side thereof and removably attached thereto by means of struts.
Liu U.S. Pat. No. 4,353,321, issued Oct. 12, 1982, describes a waterbike which includes a middle pontoon having a motor and a propeller and a seat for the operator, a rotatable front pontoon forward of the middle pontoon used for steering, and a pair of side-by-side stabilizing pontoons abaft the middle pontoon which are rotatable outwardly from the centerline of the waterbike to provide stability therefor.
Liggett U.S. Pat. No. 4,465,008, issued Aug. 14, 1984, describes a multihull sailcraft having a central hull portion and starboard and port pontoons cantilevered to the central hull portion for pivoting between an extended, sailing position and a retracted, transport position.
Tapley U.S. Pat. No. 4,898,113, issued Feb. 6, 1990, describes a detachable outrigger assembly for use with a sail-board.
None of the above watercraft overcomes the disadvantages of conventional rescue watercraft noted above.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a rescue watercraft which is carried by a main watercraft, the rescue watercraft being comfortable and safe, yet consuming a minimum amount of space when carried aboard the main watercraft.
It is a further object of the invention to provide such a rescue watercraft that can accommodate a significant means of propulsion.
It is an additional object of the invention to provide such a watercraft that can be rapidly deployed.
It is another object of the invention to provide such a rescue watercraft that can be economically constructed.
Other objects of the present invention, as well as particular features, elements, and advantages thereof will be elucidated in, or be apparent from, the following description and the accompanying drawing figures.